Posted 7:41 PM by George Siemens
Why Collaborate Via Scripting News
Quote: "As many of us who had spent years immersed in the PLATO environment left and entered the "real world", we were shocked and dismayed to find a world lacking electronic connection. And as I entered the business world, it simply made no sense to me that computers were being used solely for computing and "data processing"; the collaborative online work environment that I'd taken for granted, that I'd used day in and day out, was simply missing in action. Our work lives are all about interpersonal connections, our businesses processes are structured into connections amongst people and systems that must be coordinated. What better use of technology than to help people to connect?"

Comment: From Ray Ozzie's Blog, of Lotus Notes, Groove fame. Two points: 1. Getting people to collaborate is not easy. It usually only happens out of necessity. Collaborating is difficult...it goes against the grain of what many believe - I'm important if I "own" knowledge...versus I'm important if I share. 2. This is, once again, a great example of the value of blogging - the opportunity to read the personal thoughts of Ray Ozzie. Without blogs, this wouldn't happen...hear his own comments on it: "Second, personally, what does it feel like to be juggling my own personal communications on a regular basis such that I intuitively "feel" what is public, and what is private, and for what groups, the way that I "feel" when I work in eMail and Groove today. Transparency can be good, but what and where are the tradeoffs? I am the CEO of a company; what will happen if/when Groove is a public company, and how will it impact how I can and do communicate? What can I learn from other corporate officers who run external blogs?"

Posted 7:44 AM by George Siemens
A Knowledge Base for the Teaching Profession: What Would It Look Like and How Can We Get One?
Quote: "The authors of this Type 2, Level B paper (General Articles and Expert Positions based on documented research with clearly stated recommendations) call for systematic collection, archival, and sharing of “trustworthy” research that is based on the actual practices of classroom teachers. The researchers contend that the concrete “craft” knowledge of teachers is more “user-friendly” to their colleagues than that usually produced by educational researchers."

Comment: Great info on how technology impacts academic performance and higher order thinking/problem solving.

Teachers go to school to learn technology
Via: Educational Technology
Quote: "With many of their students already tech-savvy, some area schoolteachers spent the summer brushing up on everything from the Internet to PowerPoint."

Comment: This has been a gripe of mine for a while...teachers need to learn at least the basics of technology. Current classroom teachers will be future elearning teachers (well, many of them). An organization needs to take a multi-year perspective to begin icreasing teacher confidence level with technology. How an organization achieves that is open to opinion. I think the best way is to make resources available and allow innovators to play. I don't think the education/technology convergence is at a level yet where a majority of teachers are adopting it.